Playing to win

I’m off to the races today – not the actual races, because as you know I’m not really a fan of horse racing, but the virtual races. I’m meeting some clients for lunch at a lovely hotel (The Dorchester), and we’ll be placing bets on some race footage which will be shown on a big screen. It’s all for a good cause (charity). The only thing I’m not so keen on is that we’re supposed to wear fascinators or hats, as though we’re actually going to Ascot or another summer do. Let me tell you, I’ve been to Ascot, and there’s an awful lot of fashion roadkill on display. Unless you’re royalty, I’m not convinced anyone should wear a fascinator.

But although this is all for fun and charity, here’s a bit of a confession. I am quite competitive. I know, brand new information, right? Not in the mum stakes – I never rise to all that competitive mum nonsense, because, obviously, I am THE BEST MUM IN THE WORLD *cough* – or even, particularly in the work stakes: I’m very confident in my professional ability. But if one of my friends sets a fun challenge, I always rise to it. Think Monica in Friends (remember when she bets the apartment, she’s so confident she’ll win? Although I’ve never placed a bet on a friend’s due date. Honest.) So yes, I too am the kind of person who likes to win at whatever I’m doing, and if the stakes are interesting, so much the better. Egg and spoon races at the school fete, tennis, Monopoly, Kinect – if I’m playing a game, I’m playing to win. Of course, that doesn’t always go according to plan (and I don’t take it quite as seriously as other bloggers I could mention. #Tabletennisgate. Erica and Laura. I’m just saying.)

Playing against actual friends in the flesh, though, as Monica and Rachel discovered, can be a bit disastrous if one of you has a very competitive spirit, and if one of you doesn’t know when to quit, it can of course end in tears. Or being locked out of your new apartment, like Joey and Chandler. I also don’t like playing a game where the stakes are too high – you’ll never catch me near the high roller tables in a casino, for example. So for me, playing an online game is absolutely perfect, particularly on a site like Bgo, which has so many internet slots and some really fun games, including my personal favourite, which involves pandas and bamboo, which makes it even more fun. There’s also a good chance of getting back what you’ve put in, and more. As ever, my rule is always to play sensibly, choose a limit and stick to it, and if it doesn’t feel fun anymore (ie, if you’re losing more than you can afford), then it’s probably time to stop.

So although I won’t be betting a huge amount at the virtual races today, I will be having a good time. Definitely without a fascinator though 😉